1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to steelmaking furnaces and particularly to apparatus for repairing the inner refractory lining of furnaces, ladles or vessels utilized in the process. More specifically the invention relates to a lance for repairing the lining of a Basic Oxygen Furnace, or any other vessel or ladle, and which is adapted to repair the furnace while the lance is supported in an upright position within the furnace, or supported in any position wherein the lance is positioned centrally, or at an angle to, the longitudinal axis of the furnace vessel laddles, or other.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art vessels or furnaces used in the steel-making processes periodically require repair of the inner refractory lining because of the extreme temperatures, chemical reactions, and/or erosion and corrosion wear taking place within the furnace which break down the refractory lining at particular locations, and/or over the complete surface area. In the prior art most of the repair apparatus for repairing the inner linings are of the type which are carried on vehicles or carriages containing pipes generally called "slurry guns" which are inserted through the mouth of the vessel when it has been tilted on its side adjacent to the platform on which the carriage is rollingly supported. Slurry guns of this type are manipulated by the operator who stands a distance away from the carriage and gun and through various mechanical means and other remote operating devices manually directs the operation of the gun in connection with its shooting of the "slurry" material against the inner lining of the vessel which needs repair. Patents disclosing this type of operation are U.S. Pat. No. 3,351,289, issued Nov. 7, 1967, U.S. Pat. No. 3,87,633, issued Aug. 6, 1974, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,170, issued Nov. 4, 1975. The present invention is an improvement over the aforementioned patents in that it discloses a new and improved apparatus and process for repairing the inner linings of steel-making vessels which include a novel lance design which can be vertically or otherwise positioned and movable within the interior of the vessel and which can oscillate or circulate with respect to the furnace lining facilitating the repair thereof.